The Special Investigations Unit says there are no reasonable grounds to believe an Ontario Provincial Police officer committed a criminal offence after a 23-year-old woman suffered a fractured left foot during her arrest in rural Lambton County.
In a decision released Thursday, SIU Director Joseph Martino concluded the evidence did not reasonably establish that the officer used excessive force during the March 8, 2026, incident.
The SIU said OPP officers responded to an apartment in rural Lambton County to conduct a welfare check involving the woman and her son. The man was arrested for assault, while the woman was arrested for allegedly breaching a no-contact condition.
According to the SIU, the woman suffered the injury while being escorted down an exterior staircase after the officer stepped on her shoeless left foot. She was taken to hospital for treatment.
Martino found the woman was upset because the officer prevented her from putting on socks and because of how firmly he was holding her left arm while escorting her down the stairs. The SIU said she argued with the officer to release her arm, twisting and turning her body as they descended the staircase.
The officer told investigators he accidentally stepped on the woman’s foot because of the narrow staircase. The SIU said body-worn camera footage did not capture the incident.
Martino concluded there was no evidence to support an allegation that the officer intentionally used force.
“On this record, with no reason to believe the allegation of intentional force is any closer to the truth than the officer’s account of what happened, the evidence does not reasonably establish excessive force by the officer,” the SIU director wrote.
